Asheville police chief's son involved in wreck

Report: Son was in car but wasn't the driver

Mar. 12, 2013

Chad Anderson / Special to the Citizen-Times

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A police diagram of the accident involving Asheville police Chief William Anderson's 2007 Pontiac G5. Police said his son, Chad Anderson, was a passenger in the vehicle. The identity of the driver is unclear. / Special to the Citizen-Times

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ASHEVILLE — The son of Asheville Police Chief William Anderson was involved in a wreck over the weekend as a passenger in a car registered to his father. The identity of the driver is unclear.

The driver is only referred to as “Dianty” in a police accident report. A police spokesman did not return several calls or respond Monday to an email asking about the investigation, the identity of the driver, if he or she was apprehended and what charges that person would face.

Chad Anderson, 22, was charged with failure to report an accident in a timely manner.

The crash happened about 2:30 a.m. Saturday on Montford Avenue near Watauga Street. Anderson’s 2007 Pontiac G5 was traveling south on Montford Avenue toward downtown and struck a traffic island and a directional sign on the median, according to a police report. Chad Anderson told police an acquaintance named “Dianty” was driving the vehicle, but he didn’t know the person’s last name.

Chad Anderson said he left the scene to call a AAA wrecker from a friend’s apartment and that the driver fled the scene on foot, according to the police report.

“He did not flee the scene,” William Anderson said of his son via email. “His cellphone was dead (which is not uncommon for him) so he went to a friend’s home a short distance away and called a wrecker to remove the vehicle. He also attempted to call the (Police Department) at the nonemergency number but hung up before it was answered because there was an incoming call from the wrecker service. After speaking with the wrecker service, it was decided the wrecker would pick him up from the friend’s home and drive to the scene. There he met with APD officers.”

Chief Anderson said his son called him from a sergeant's cellphone once he arrived on scene with a wrecker. Anderson said he and his wife later met with the son at his apartment.

“I personally inspected the vehicle and could clearly see the driver had impacted the windshield,” William Anderson said in the email. “There was no injury to my son. This gave me ease in confirming he was not the driver.”

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The vehicle was traveling 30 mph, according to the police report, and traveled about 10 feet after the initial impact.

A witness who lives near the accident said he heard a loud bang and observed the Pontiac stuck on the median, according to the police report. He told police the driver revved the engine trying to move it. The witness’s account then appears to contradict Chad Anderson’s statement to police that the driver fled the scene on foot.

The witness said he saw two people around the Pontiac when another vehicle approached Anderson and another person outside the car. Both people left in the second vehicle, according to the witness.

A second witness who lives nearby told police he also heard a loud bang and looked out his window and saw one subject walking around the vehicle on the traffic island. The second witness does not reference a second person in the report.

“The subject that was walking around vehicle #1 eventually got into a vehicle that had pulled up moments later,” the police report said, referring to the Pontiac. “The vehicle then made a U-turn and traveled north on Montford Ave. toward Bulldog Dr.”

The damage to the vehicle was estimated at $2,500 and was not drivable, according to the police report. The damage to the sign was estimated at $300.

“As a family we are grateful he was not injured and hope the driver did not suffer any injury,” William Anderson said. “At this point, we consider this a family matter, and no further comments will be given.”